Flying Through a Nebula

The closest I’ll ever come to traveling at warp speed.

This gorgeous video — make sure to watch it in HD! — visualizes what it might be like to fly through the Gum 29 nebula and Westerlund 2 star cluster, which are located in the Carina constellation, 20,000 light-years away from Earth.

The comparatively young, 2-million-year-old star cluster contains some of our galaxy’s hottest, brightest, and most massive stars. The largest stars are unleashing a torrent of ultraviolet light and hurricane-force winds that etch away the enveloping hydrogen gas cloud. This creates a fantasy celestial landscape of pillars, ridges, and valleys.

The video was created in 2015 to help celebrate the Hubble Space Telescope’s 25th anniversary. Download hi-res images and versions of the video here. Via